Government minister insists situation at Felixstowe port is improving
It's after a big shipping firm confirmed it was diverting cargo away from the Suffolk coast.
Last updated 13th Oct 2021
Conservative Party Chairman, Oliver Dowden, has insisted the situation at the Port of Felixstowe is improving after concerns over a backlog there.
It comes as shipping firm, Maersk, confirmed yesterday it was diverting vessels away from UK ports because of a build up of cargo.
The Financial Times reported Maersk had said ships destined for Felixstowe were instead unloading elsewhere in Europe before using smaller vessels to finally get deliveries to the UK.
Lars Mikael Jensen, head of global ocean network at Maersk, said the HGV driver shortage has slowed down the time it takes for containers to be emptied and picked up.
“We had to stop operations on a ship because there was nowhere to discharge the containers,” he said.
“Felixstowe is among the top two or three worst-hit terminals.
“We are having to deviate some of the bigger ships away from Felixstowe and relay some of the smaller ships for the cargo.
“We did it for a little while over the summer and now we’re starting to do it again.”
Felixstowe deals with 36% of UK freight container volumes.
A spokesman for the port said: “In common with other major ports in the UK and beyond, the Port of Felixstowe is experiencing impacts of the global supply chain crisis.
“The vast majority of import containers are cleared for collection within minutes of arriving and there are over 1,000 unused haulier bookings most days.
“The situation is improving and there is more spare space for import containers this week than at any time since the beginning of July when supply chain impacts first started to bite.
“Empty container levels remain high as import containers are returned and we are asking shipping lines to remove them as quickly as possible.”
The lorry driver shortage has contributed to disruption at UK ports.
Tim Morris, chief executive officer of the UK Major Ports Group, said that trade ports had become “the jam in the sandwich between surging, volatile shipping and UK supply chains badly impacted by factors such as HGV driver shortages”.
He said: “Ports have taken significant action to respond to the challenges and build resilience.
“They have extended gate opening to 24/7, increased capacity for trucks at peak hours, sought to maximise rail freight usage within the significant constraints of the network, created additional storage space and recruited more people.
“But the pressures are being exacerbated by well-publicised issues impacting all UK supply chains, notably shortages of HGV drivers.
“Ports therefore have to manage access to storage space very dynamically in extreme situations. This can mean some very limited short-term restrictions.
“Ports are committed to working closely with customers and entire supply chains to keep goods moving.”